Pro's and Con's of Cheaper Catfish Reels

In this catfish fishing video I am fishing for catfish using some catfishing reels that are not that expensive. Catfish fishing reels can cost hundreds of dollars, but you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a good fishing reel for catching catfish. The Lew's Laser 60 is a great levelwind round reel for fishing for catfish, carp, and striped bass. There are pro's and con's to cheaper catfishing reels., and we discuss some of the good and bad points.
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[@shoalscatfishjonathan]

That was fun, excellent explanation between the difference of the expensive reels to the inexpensive reels. If I may add, I have gone the route of the inexpensive reels and got the Ozark trail 5000 for less than $20 and 2 weeks ago reeled in a 65 pound blue no problem from the reel. I have had these reels for almost 2 years and have not had a problem with them and if I do I'm happy to throw them away and buy another one. I definitely got my money's worth out of it. 👍

[@angrynordicmidget]

I decided to try out baitcasters with the cheapest reel I could find. Bought a Sougayilang warrior on clearance for $18. I've had the reel 3 years and caught a couple of 50 lb blues and hundreds of smaller ones. The level wind has developed an occasional hitch finally, but that cheap little thing has been tougher than anything but a zebco 33 from the 70s lol.

[@docd-monik4380]

I do alot of fishing, go just about every weekend religiously, when its not bad weather. Most of my rod/reel combos are the more expensive Walmart options, but still cheap compared to some of what you see at Bass Pro and so forth...never had any issues with them and I definitely use em alot

[@ronrash7213]

I take out first responders and veterans out on a local lake, at no cost to them. I run cheaper reels for those trips so if one breaks, I'm not out a lot and some people cannot cast a baitcasting reel, so it is a win, win if you can afford different setups for multiple people. I do run more expensive reels and I have cheaper one and they both work great for me.

[@HomesickforAlaska]

I have a couple of Penn 209's from my Dad that I know are at least from the 60's as I used them as a kid fishing Puget Sound and the Pacific Coast in Wasington State. They are still in great shape and I still take them out catfishing occasionally to take a memory of Dad with me. Currently using Piscifun and cheaper Abu's for catfishing. But I have probably owned a reel from all of the bigger names in reels over the years, and in thousands of fish I don't think a reel itself has ever cost me a fish, just a few close calls. Some of them have obviously worked better then others, ie cast better, smoother retrieve, last longer, etc, but they all pretty much worked for purpose, and I don't think I have ever spent much more then $150 on a reel, usually much less, outside of a special purpose setup such as my old Halibut rig. What I have had happen several times is plastic reel seats break and other issues with "cheap" rods. You can take good care of reels and usually keep them working decently with proper maintenance, but its much harder with rods. For me I am probably pickier with rod selection then I am with reels these days with metal reel seats a must, and heavy duty line guides, among other considerations.

[@CreoleCatfishing]

My Ancient Mariner 7000’s have been awesome reels so far. The conditions I fish tend to be very hard on gear, and they’ve exceeded my expectations for the price!!

[@christophergainey9395]

If the paw or worm gear wares out, can't get replacement parts, no problem just take out the level wind mechanism and go straight conventional.

[@backwaterboatrehab]

I have 2 Lews Lasers that’s I’ve fished with regularly the past several years and I like them. Very simple to take apart and clean compared to others. Last year I bought a cheap Amazon Sougayilang and have had a lot of trouble getting in dialed in. Maybe I got a bad one, but I’d rather spend a little more money and get another Lew’s next time.

[@nicholashead7145]

I've got a couple Shakespeare 2000, Lew's XL 60, and several different models of Abu's and hands down The Abu reels are the nicest. The others do get the job done, but the quality are lacking. Great video.

[@chuckfinley3152]

Cheap doesn’t mean bad, the best example of this is the Penn pursuit iv, sealed stainless bearings and drag, ht100 drag, graphite body but no flex at all, same gears etc as the fierce iv. It’s a solid reel that a ton of people use, my pursuit iv’s don’t feel twice as cheap as my battle iii’s or fuego LT’s, though the fuego is on another level of smoothness.

[@jeffreyneely9283]

Great video Dieter ,cool info on reels, nice fish. Thanks

[@keithandrews4073]

I've gotten rid of my abus and switched exclusively to the lews and piscifun reels. I've got lews reels that I've had for 6 yrs and other than oiling em,haven't had to do any maintenance. I've had abus that didn't last a year. I'm really happy with the piscifun chaos 60s and have just ordered 4 more.

[@phflhs]

Abus are way over rated. I'll take a Piscifun 60 everyday of the week over abu.

[@206pappy]

For me it comes down to reliability with reels. Some of the less expensive reels had bits fail early on. On 3 identical reels the same parts failed within 3 trips. Upgrading and trying different brands got us to the point of fuss free fishing. Odd how it goes fishing. Out of 9 fish the last couple trips 7 came on one reel. The new one.. The lightly rigged one I got to catch bait. Cast so well I tossed it for catfish too. Odd but no real reason for it I can see. Just happy to see fish.

[@madtownangler]

I just go with Abu Garcia. Most of them have lasted me like fifteen years. I don't have any monster fish here though only up to just over twenty pounds from shore

[@nativewildman9335]

All of my round reels are Abu, my newest one is 250. From my experience with cheaper reels, I found they don't cast as well and bird nest more often, especially with the low profile baitcasters. I have some reels I need worked on one took a dive in a sandy creek and doesn't cast well anymore it a 200$ Pflueger Patriarch baitcastersl.

[@bigtrout]

Even large catfish don’t make long blistering runs so cheap reels work fine. I’ve got the Picifun and the Kast King reels. Settled on the Kastkings because they’re pretty much a copy of the Garcia 5000 series I grew up fishing with, and the clicker is louder with a little more resistance than the Picifun. Rods are another story, that’s where I tend to stay away from cheap. Even still many of the popular catfish specific rods are in the $100-$125 range and seem to hold up well so still affordable.

[@kyleybare9262]

that kayak catfish bit made me laugh so hard 😂

[@davefisher5196]

Caught a 50 on a $200 Tekoma and a 58 on a $45 piscifun 5000 today. Both 3 years old

[@dougaskew5056]

The new MAD KATZ Reel XALT 6550 is at good price and lifetime warranty I have a couple Lews 60 they work great but mostly I run ABU because of parts are east to find. And top end PENN Reels Squall great video

[@freddyferguson7763]

Wish the madkatz had a Lefty option. I have 2 squall star drags but it be nice to have the level wind

[@christophergainey9395]

Taking the level wind mechanism out will allow you to cast further as well

[@aljones238]

Thank you for the video on inexpensive reels. That's my price point. Any comments or thoughts on kasting Rover reels?

[@jboat571x9]

I have 6 of them. Have caught a lot of monster cats on them. I’ve been using them for about the last 5 years. Haven’t had a single issue with any of them. They’ve had some serious abuse also, pulling hang ups loose with heavy line and such. It’s funny how the best argument for expensive reels is that parts are readily available when they break down. I can get a new Kast King reel for the price of parts, shipping, repair on an abu if and when it wears out.

[@danpierce8759]

I fish the bank on the Mississippi around st. Louis and I've found the cheap ones to not cast nearly as well and wear out much faster but I'm in crazy current and sometimes making crazy casts my favorite is anything penn non level wind

[@SS-fj8dn]

Another good, informative video! Agreed on going in with eyes open and expectations in check. I’ve used abu 5500’s the last 3 years but am converting to penn fathom 2’s this year for increased line capacity and drag capacity. If I wasn’t on the water as much as I am, I would consider some of these alternatives and the value of them is off the charts

[@greenpighunter6930]

My 6500 C3's Abu's are like SuperMan. Bullet proof.

[@Valkaneer]

I fish the St Clair river, we have very strong undertow currents. I bought and Abu Garcia 6500 thinking if you can handle a big ol catfish it can handle a 24 inch walleye. Well yes, it can, but it's very hard to reel in with the 2 lb sinker which we have to use. A Pen 209 can do it better, and a $50 450 Okuma is even better than the Pen 209. The Abu Garcia 6500 boot stomps those other ones all day long on casting distance, but has no where near the power to reel in something heavy. Gearing matters with heavy sinkers or powerful fish. And we recast out about every 15 min or all night long. I caught about a 30" steel head on that Abu Garcia and I litrally could not reel it in normally, I had to lift the pole high and drop it quickly while reeling in. At first I thought I had caught a log or something because the reel just would not even move, a Great Lakes Steel Head is something else. Right after that finally bought another Okuma and switched my Abu Garcia over. It just pained me to take that Abu Garcia off my pole, that reel was not cheep, though it's not expensive either in comparison to a $200 reel.

[@Valkaneer]

Oh man, I fixed my Abu Garcia 6000 typo (should have been 6500) and I got my heart taken away. LOL oh well.

[@gabe0000]

Asking if that was Justin in the intro had me dying

[@Mid-Atlantic_Outdoors]

I've had good luck with most any reel except a penn

[@naughtydorf18]

My best catfish fishing reel has been the 3000 sized Lidl bait runner spinning reel I got for $15 brand new from Lidls. I use it for bank fishing and landed many a big blue, channel, and bullhead with it. Even pulled in my pb 34 lb blue from Lugoff Dam area even with four turbines going with locked drag.

[@DV-ol7vt]

I have some Picifun round reels and they have some nice features and are quality made but the metal and paint used seem to be low quality. I have lots of Abu’s and they are definitely better quality of materials but I don’t think the price for a new Abu is justified if someone just wants to catch fish. I’m a gear snob so I will buy high end and low end gear just to take it apart and compare build quality.

[@koreywilliams4570]

I had one that i ended up throwing away. I couldn't figure out why it kept back lashing so bad. Then i noticed the line guide kept getting stuck to one side.

[@NorthernviewOutdoors]

One of my first bait casters was a Shakespeare Walmart special and it's probably well over 20 years old now and I keep it around if any of my friends want to go out fishing with me and don't have their own gear. I definitely fish on a budget and staying in the middle ground is where I stay. My most reel is a Penn Warfare 30LW I got on sale I think for 80 some. As long as it works.

[@coachsteve9514]

Hey Dieter I know you mainly fish from your boat, but can you give us bank fishermen your opinion as to what the best rod and reel combo is for long distance casting?

[@adventuresofaliandclint]

Just bought my first 3 ancient mariners at CatCon 2024....hope they do good!! 90.00 a piece!!!!

[@jaaron2834]

Hey Dieter, .. I bought a silly little baitcaster on Facebook years ago.. For no more than $29.00 It's out perform many reels my friends brag about to this day… 🤣

[@raygissendanner1476]

Great video and tips witch one do you think is the best between the catfish pro and abu garcia spinning reels my spinning reel is not working so good anymore and I love to fish enjoy your catfishing videos and tips thank you

[@williestephens4327]

THAT'S REAL TALK 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@slange455]

I bought one of the bass pro cat maxx was disappointed seems like the drag/spool tension is always changing…probably the only reel I’ve been very frustrated with maybe I got a bad one …need to take it apart

[@TheAnglerJay]

I've had 6 Okuma classic clx 300LA's for 6 years now. Not one issue so far. $50 each and have caught hundreds of fish up to 60 lbs 👍... now that I said that, I'll break one, lol.

[@shermantomlinson2839]

I use a zebco 888 and it's good for me

[@strugglejennings7215]

How do you feel about cutting the hook some say it’s best some say try hardest to get it out in like you though I use circles but now and again they swallowed and I do same cut leave hook in there unless it’s headed for the skillet

[@karconst6632]

good call great video, as a rule what ounce sinker and Snap Swivel LBS would you use on your rivers? enjoy your day.

[@Frenchbroadcatman.]

Where's your review on the kastkimg Rover I've been waiting for a couple of years now where's that one at deiter

[@shawnsderbyden1032]

I just spent a little over 400 bucks on two rods and reals most I’ve ever spent I’ve only spent just over 100 bucks for a combo plus line once but usually I spend like 40 something at most for a combo but I needed to be able to throw bigger baits with bigger sinkers and I just couldn’t do that with the cheaper stuff I went with ancient mariner rods and reals they cast amazing like night and day difference in how smooth they cast and the rods are awesome am I afraid to use them as much as I would like for what I paid absolutely but the rods and reals have a lifetime warranty so u mean there’s another reason spending more makes it more worth it to get that warranty

[@catfishwilly88]

Where did you find the power handles for the lews 60's reel Mr. Melhorn?

[@DieterMelhorn]

Gomexus makes the best ones.

[@catfishwilly88]

@@DieterMelhorn thank you sir!

[@GreenwellFishing]

Not a good first impression on That Lews reel. First fish i caught on it. Stripped it out! 23lb fish in current, it didn't like it!

[@keithandrews4073]

I've had that happen to the last 4 abus that I bought. I know you can get lemons, but to have the last 4 stripped and 3 of em won't even on catfish, they stripped trying to get unhung.

[@aaronmichaelmudd9261]

Are you making it to cat con?

[@DieterMelhorn]

No, I will not be there this year....

[@the420xtc]

OBEY

[@jaaron2834]

My thoughts would be, .. You get what you pay for, ... Mostly The price of the reel dictates nothing but the performance and quality of the reel.. So if you like smooth… or you might not care if it runs like a rough diesel truck... Buy what you can afford and you'll be fine... . Expensive reels don't make you a better fisherman nor will they make you catch more or bigger fish Bottom line is fish don't care how much you spend on your gear….🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@JamesBronson-hy3rb]

No that was not kayak catfishing sorry not Justin